Education

BA (Sonoma State), MMus (Toronto), DMA (Toronto)

Biography

Dr. Noam Lemish is a pianist, composer, scholar and educator. He has appeared in numerous performances and conducted workshops across Canada, the US, Europe, Israel, and in Bhutan and has released multiple albums, including most recently the JUNO-nominated Twelve (2022) and Erlebnisse (2021). His research focuses primarily on transcultural jazz practices and improvisation pedagogy. His teaching interests cover a wide variety of areas within jazz studies, as well as composition, Jewish music, open-improvisation and the practice of Deep Listening.

Professor Lemish is presently engaged in a diverse array of projects including leading the Noam Lemish 12tet, co-leading a quartet with oudist/guitarist Amos Hoffman, a duo with percussionist George Marsh as well as premiering and recording the piano music of composer W.A. Mathieu. His compositions include jazz works for small and large ensembles, chamber, choral, piano, and “The People’s King”: a commissioned transcultural suite in celebration the King of Bhutan’s 30th birthday composed while teaching music in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan in 2010.

In December 2023, Lemish published his first book, Transcultural Jazz: Israeli Musicians and Multi-Local Music Making with Routledge’s Transnational Studies in Jazz Series. The monograph studies jazz performance and composition through the examination of the transcultural practices of Israeli jazz musicians and their impact globally.

Lemish also leads “Sound and Sense: Jewish Music @ York”, a collaborative project co-sponsored by the Department of Music and the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies. “Sound and Sense” is a performance and lecture series dedicated to showcasing the multicultural diversity of Jewish musical expression as well as the ongoing intersections between Jewish and non-Jewish musical practices and communities. The initiative is driven by an inclusive philosophy that believes in the power of music to serve as a bridge-builder and a vehicle for cultural exchange and dialogue.

Lemish holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Jazz Performance and a Masters degree in Composition from the University of Toronto. Before joining York University as Assistant Professor of Jazz in 2020, he taught at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and the University of Toronto-Scarborough’s Department of Arts, Media and Culture.